IFC Results Show High Development Impact, Record Investments in Sub Saharan Africa in FY12
Investments hit $4 billion in SSA; activities support infrastructure, farmers, entrepreneurs

Nairobi, Kenya, August 28, 2012 — IFC, a member of the World Bank
Group, today announced high development impact results in Sub-Saharan Africa
in fiscal year 2012 from both its advisory services projects and investments,
which reached a record $4 billion. IFC supported infrastructure, health,
education, and agribusiness projects in the region, and strengthened smaller
businesses and Africa’s capital markets.

IFC’s investment clients benefitted from $1.2 billion mobilized from other
investors, and are expected to generate power for 1.54 million new customers,
support 23,000 farmers, improve health services for 50,000 patients, and
reach 10,000 students. IFC Advisory Services helped create 82,300 jobs
and worked with partner financial institutions to provide more than $1
billion in loans to African entrepreneurs in the 2011 calendar year.

IFC Advisory Services were active in 35 countries, with 123 projects, valued
at $204 million. Projects spanned a range of activities, such as increasing
finance for farmers and entrepreneurs, improving health and education services,
finding renewable energy solutions, building public private partnerships
in infrastructure and supporting investment climate reforms. Public and
private development partners provided $57.8 million in additional funding
to support these programs.

Jean Philippe Prosper, IFC Director for East and Southern Africa, said,
"IFC strives to promote open and competitive markets in Africa, as
reflected in our development impact and highest-ever investment figures.
IFC’s financial and advisory projects support businesses in Africa, create
jobs, and deliver essential services to the underserved.”

Yolande Duhem, IFC Director for West and Central Africa, said, “Despite
a weak global economy, Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing strong economic
growth. IFC is proud to contribute to that growth. We have increased our
support for Africa’s entrepreneurs and large companies, and helped governments
improve the business environment. Our investments and advisory work have
improved infrastructure and boosted financing to small enterprises. IFC
remains positive on Africa’s future.”

IFC funding for infrastructure and natural resources projects in Africa
passed the $1 billion mark for the first time last fiscal year, including
investments in Cameroon’s Kribi power plant, Kenya Airways and the Simandou
mine in Guinea. Twelve new public-private partnership mandates were
signed to improve access to health services, power, telecommunications
and ports.

Africa-wide highlights for fiscal year 2012

The MasterCard Foundation and IFC
launched a partnership to increase access to financial services for an
estimated 5.3 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The $37.4 million partnership
will help microfinance banks expand more rapidly and develop new products,
while expanding into new, hard-to-reach locations. The project will also
help providers deliver more affordable mobile financial services to low-income
customers.

IFC and the World Bank’s Investment Climate
Advisory Services worked with governments to enact 143 laws and regulations,
which led to $298 million in private sector savings. São
Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde,
Sierra Leone, and Burundi were ranked among the world’s top reformers
in the 2012 Doing Business report.

IFC's Public Private Partnership in
infrastructure business line had a landmark year, signing agreements with
African governments that mandate it to structure transactions that can
attract private sector sponsors and investment. The mandates and other
activities had a particular focus on countries recovering from conflict,
such as South Sudan, supporting their efforts to regenerate infrastructure
and build strong private sectors. Key sectors included health, tourism
and renewable energy, providing a strong indicator of both the level and
range of interest by governments to create more investment opportunities.

IFC’s Conflict Affected States in Africa
Initiative (CASA) provided advisory support to eight countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa in FY12, including to some of the region’s least developed, to
help them rebuild their private sectors and generate economic growth. CASA
helped Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan make improvements to their
business climates that are attracting investment and supporting the growth
of smaller businesses. CASA almost doubled its spending on programs in
conflict affected countries to $9 million in FY12 from $5.4 million in
FY11.CASA is supported by donors Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway.
For more information see www.ifc.org/casa

IFC’s Africa Micro, Small, and Medium
Enterprise (AMSME) Program supports increased lending to small and
medium enterprises by working with partner financial institutions. In fiscal
year 2012, the program worked in 16 countries across Africa with 21 banks,
including Bank of Africa, Ecobank and Banc ABC, which provided over $1
billion in loans to their SME clients.

IFC’s Credit Bureau program aims
to make access to finance easier for individuals and small businesses by
building credit information sharing and reporting systems in Africa. To
do this, we work closely with central banks, public and private banks,
other lenders and credit providers, and consumers. In fiscal year
2012, the program worked on developing credit bureaus in Liberia, Sierra
Leone, Burundi and Ghana. In Ethiopia, IFC provided advisory support
to the National Bank’s credit registry, which went live in August 2011.

The Efficient Securities Markets Institutional
Development (ESMID) Africa Program, a joint program by IFC, World Bank
and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), helps
develop securities markets to finance infrastructure, housing, microfinance
and other projects. ESMID works in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and
Nigeria, where it helps simplify procedures for issuing and trading bonds,
trains market participants; and is regionalizing securities markets. In
fiscal year 2012, the program enacted a number of regulatory reforms in
Africa to develop local bond markets. Highlights included ESMID’s bond
issuance framework, which received national approval in Kenya, Rwanda,
Uganda and Tanzania. ESMID also helped pass a law to allow over the
counter bond trading in Kenya.

Lighting Africa, a joint IFC and World
Bank program, is mobilizing the private sector to provide safe, affordable,
and modern off-grid lighting to communities in Africa that are not connected
to the grid and rely on kerosene lamps or other expensive, polluting alternatives.
By the end of fiscal year 2012, Lighting Africa had provided cleaner, better
lighting and increased access to energy to 3.8 million consumers across
the continent. For more information on Lighting Africa see www.lightingafrica.org

In partnership with financial institutions,
IFC provided local currency loans in Rwanda and Zambia last fiscal
year, helping businesses in those countries secure long-term funding while
protecting them from foreign exchange risk. IFC also obtained approval
from Rwanda, Ghana and the eight member countries of the West African Monetary
Union to establish local currency bond programs to strengthen domestic
capital markets and support private sector development in the region.

IFC and the IFC African, Latin American,
and Caribbean Fund made equity investments in Morocco-based insurance
provider Saham Finances to help the company expand into parts of Africa,
where the majority lack health, life, and business insurance coverage.
IFC and the IFC ALAC Fund, managed by IFC Asset Management Company, invested
the Moroccan dirham equivalent of €90 million in Saham Finances. The investment
will help the company extend coverage across Sub-Saharan Africa, where
the percentage of those insured is among the lowest in the world.

IFC and Standard Chartered
launched a bond-issuance program that will increase the availability of
local-currency financing for private sector development in Africa. The
IFC Pan-African Debt Medium-Term Note Programme will initially focus
on Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Rwanda. Over
the next several months, IFC will work with the respective authorities
in these countries to obtain their consent to be part of the program. Standard
Chartered is appointed as the sole arranger for the program. Standard Chartered
will also be the lead manager for many of the inaugural bond transactions
under the program. Other financial institutions may co-lead individual
bond issues.

IFC made an equity investment
of $35 million in the Convergence Partners Communications Infrastructure
Fund to support more rapid development of information and communications
technologies infrastructure across Africa. The fund is expected to play
an important development role in Africa. The fund’s investment focus will
be to address the lack of enabling infrastructure that provides quality,
affordable communications services, especially broadband, across Africa.
The fund aims to develop and invest in new wholesale, open access networks
and related services, and will capitalize on the potential for communication
technology platforms to deliver critical services such as banking, healthcare,
education and government programs that improve living standards.

IFC and the IFC African, Latin America
and Caribbean Fund invested $55 million in Armajaro Trading Limited,
a leading global soft-commodity supplier, to support the ethical sourcing
of cocoa and coffee. The project will help develop sustainable farming
practices and improve traceability within its supply chains.

IFC invested $200 million in the new Global
SME Finance Facility, the first global platform of its kind to blend
donor funding with funding from international development institutions
to expand lending to small businesses in emerging markets. The United Kingdom’s
Department for International Development (DFID) is the facility’s first
donor, with an investment of $63 million. The facility will support high-impact
projects with higher risk profiles, such as in conflict-affected areas
of Africa and South Asia, women-owned businesses, and those engaged in
sustainable-energy and climate-change activities. It is expected to fund
about 600,000 small businesses over its 10-year lifetime. The facility
will target projects in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

IFC Advisory Services programs in
FY12 were supported by the governments of Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Flanders, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United
States and Wallonia as well as the Austrian Development Bank, European
Commission, and The MasterCard Foundation.

East and Southern Africa (highlights)

Transport

IFC invested $25 million in the Kenya
Airways rights issue, building upon a partnership that dates back to
1995, when IFC first advised the carrier on its privatization process.
In fiscal year 2013, IFC is also expected to loan an additional $80
million towards Kenya Airways’ expansion program.

IFC and six leading finance institutions
provided $164 million financing to Rift Valley Railways to rehabilitate
the Kenya-Uganda railway line. IFC was the largest financier, providing
$42 million.

Power, Energy and Environment

Understanding the need for reliable power
to build economies in East Africa, IFC invested in two government-tendered
independent power projects – Thika Power ($28 million) and Gulf
Power Ltd ($31 million). The IPPs will increase power supply
in Kenya, demonstrating how the private sector can help the government
meet growing demand for electricity.

IFC and the European Investment Bank
launched a new €60 million facility to expand access to finance for sustainable
energy through local financial institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
and Rwanda. The facility will be supported by the identification of bankable
sustainable energy projects and capacity building for local service providers.

IFC, with the support of the
Government of Canada, committed a sustainable energy finance
loan in Sub-Saharan Africa with Sasfin Bank. The transaction will support
expanded lending by Sasfin for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
boosting efficient use of energy resources and reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions. IFC is to provide up to $10 million financing to the bank,
including up to $2.3 million from the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program.
The long term funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
will help the South African companies become more resource efficient and
competitive. These benefits were also made possible by the government of
Canada’s contribution, which helped make the financing package viable.

Mining

IFC provided $5 million to African Eagle
Resources, a UK-incorporated company that discovered nickel deposits
in the Dutwa region of Tanzania in 2008. The loan will support
a nickel exploitation project in Tanzania, that is expected
to provide jobs and government revenues once the mine is developed.

Agribusiness

IFC made an investment of $
30 million, partially denominated in Zambian Kwacha, to support the expansion
of Zambeef Products Plc in Africa. Following an investment of $10 million
in 2010, this is IFC’s second loan to Zambeef, which is emerging as one
of the leading agribusinesses in the region. Zambeef is involved in the
production, processing, distribution and retail of beef, chicken, pork,
dairy, edible oils and flour. IFC’s new investment will support Zambeef’s
$60 million three-year expansion plan, which aims to increase production,
add new retail outlets and make food production more efficient across the
supply chain.

Mozambique’s largest wheat miller, Merec
Industries, received $25 million from IFC to expand its milling and
handling facilities; boosting food production and efficiency. Merec
will use the financing to build a new flour mill in northern Mozambique
and construct a storage facility of 20,000 ton silo at the port of Maputo.
IFC’s involvement in Merec dates back to 2000, when it provided partial
guarantees to establish the company’s first mill, and later financed a
second mill and pasta plant in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

Manufacturing and Services

IFC made its one hundredth hotel investment
in Africa with a $5.5 million loan to hotel company, Opulent (B) Ltd.,
to develop the first DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Burundi. The hotel will
help improve the country’s business infrastructure by providing international-standard
rooms and conference facilities. IFC also financed a multi-storey
commercial and residential complex, ‘International House’, which
will soon appear on the Bujumbura skyline.

Financial Services

·IFC maintained a leading role in developing
the region’s financial sector, partnering with a number of banks.
In March 2012, IFC extended a $100 million loan to Equity Bank
Ltd. to support lending to SMEs and women entrepreneurs. Equity Bank
will use the loan to expand lending in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan
and Rwanda. IFC has previously provided investment and advisory services
to Bank of Africa and Diamond Trust bank to help them increase their support
for SMEs in East Africa.

IFC loaned $9 millionto Alios
Finance Group to provide leasing, equipment loans and hire purchase
for small and medium firms in Kenya and Tanzania. The Pan-African group
is seeking to finance small and medium businesses working in transportation,
manufacturing and services in these two important economies of East Africa

IFC made an equity investment
of up to ZAR 170 million (approximately $20 million) in Assupol Holdings
Limited, the holding company of Assupol Life Limited. Assupol Life
Limited, formerly a mutual society, converted into a public company and
demutualised during December 2010. The investment will position Assupol
to gain more recognition among investors as Assupol develops a business
strategy to serve more low-income customers in South Africa. Assupol’s
products include life, disability and accident cover; funeral cover; retirement
products; and savings and investment products. Its client base is highly
concentrated among previously disadvantaged
groups, especially low-income South Africans.

Small and Medium Enterprises

IFC’s Business Edge program, which provides management training for entrepreneurs,
was offered in Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya and Burundi. Since
its launch in Kenya in 2009, Business Edge has trained 1860 entrepreneurs,
from a variety of SMEs linked to companies such as East African Breweries
Ltd, Nation Media Group and Standard Chartered; as well as organizations
such as the Kenya Association of Women Business Owners, among others.
In Rwanda, IFC Advisory Services engaged with the government in a program
called Hanga Umulimo, or "make your own job." Using the
SME Toolkit, 900 Rwandan SMEs were trained and 200 of them accessed funding
from local banks.

In Uganda, 1,500 entrepreneurs took part in the Business Edge training,
710 of whom were female.

Across Africa, Business Edge has already trained over 100,000 entrepreneurs,
providing courses in marketing, finance, operations, and other areas.

Health and Education

International Medical Group Uganda received
a loan of $2.2 million, which will be used to roll out a low-income
health insurance project in Kenya, and open new clinics and upgrade facilities
in Uganda. IMG will invest in new medical equipment, as well as add new
in-patient wards, broadening health care services in Uganda.

Conflict-affected states

IFC made its first investment in South
Sudan to support a large commercial building in Juba, helping Africa’s
newest country build its economy following independence. IFC’s $5 million
loan will help UAP Properties Ltd. build ‘Equatoria Tower’ a twelve-storey
structure that will provide office and retail space. IFC also officially
opened its office in Juba in May 2012.

Local currency finance

Rwanda has been working closely with
IFC to provide local currency financing for businesses. In
2009, IFC set up a local currency swap facility with the National Bank
of Rwanda - the first time a multilateral organization entered into a swap
with an African Central Bank. The swap facility has enabled IFC to commit
the equivalent of $26 million in Rwandan francs towards projects that support
agribusiness, manufacturing and small businesses. In fiscal year 2012,
IFC made it easier for KCB, East Africa’s largest bank, to enter Rwanda
by providing a $5 million local currency loan. KCB will set up a
program for small and medium businesses, as well as increase mortgage lending
in Rwanda.

Sustainable Finance

IFC signed an agreement with
the Principal Officers Association of South Africa to work on the
integration of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues in
investment decisions. POA is a trade association of pension fund managers
representing more than ZAR 2 trillion (about $250 billion) in assets under
management. The project will provide a consistent framework and set of
tools for retirement funds to comply with the new Regulation 28 of South
Africa’s Pension Funds Act. The regulation is pioneering on a global level
in that it requires pension funds to actively consider sustainability issues
in their investment decisions. This is reinforced by a number of national
and international policy initiatives such as the Code for Responsible Investing
in South Africa and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment.

West and Central Africa

Power and Energy

IFC is investing €60 million in direct financing,
and coordinating €138 million in syndicated and parallel loans to the
Kribi Power Development Company in Cameroon to support the development,
construction and operation of a new natural gas-fired power plant and transmission
line that will enhance the supply of reliable electricity and improve energy
security in Cameroon. The Kribi power project will be implemented as a
public-private partnership between Cameroon’s government and the AES Corporation
(USA). In addition to providing direct financing to this €263 million
project, IFC is coordinating an additional $138 million in financing from
the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Netherlands
Development Finance Company (FMO), the French Promotion and Investment
Company for Economic Cooperation (PROPARCO), and the Central African Development
Bank (BDEAC).

IFC invested about $20.8 million in Rialto
Energy Limited to support the expansion of the company’s oil and gas exploration
work in Côte d’Ivoire and help provide future natural gas for the country’s
power sector. About $10.8 million came from IFC’s own account, and $10
million was mobilized through IFC’s African, Latin American, and Caribbean
Fund, which has commitments from various pension funds and other institutional
investors.

IFC is providing an $80 million loan to
Takoradi International Company (TICO), to help expand its gas-fired
Takoradi 2 power plant (“T2”) in Ghana, increasing the generation of
electricity in the country to spur economic growth. Alongside the
$80 million, IFC will provide an additional $15 million loan to TICO on
behalf of the Canada Climate Change Program, for which IFC is the implementing
agency. The OPEC Fund for International Development will be providing
$22.5 million, and the balance of the $330 million debt financing will
be provided by a consortium of international development finance institutions,
led by FMO.

Mining

IFC will invest an additional $150 million
in the Simandou iron ore project, owned 95% by Rio Tinto plc and
5% by IFC. The project is located in southeast Guinea and at full production
will be the largest mining and commercial project in the country, supporting
economic growth in Guinea for decades. Annual taxes and royalties to Guinea’s
Government could exceed $1 billion annually, depending on iron ore prices.
The project will directly employ over 4,000 Guineans. IFC is also supporting
a ‘buy local’ program to increase the project’s use of local sourcing
in its supply chains.

Agribusiness

IFC invested $7 million to help Kenya’s
Vegpro Group develop a 1,070 hectare farm in Ghana, marking the company’s
first expansion outside Kenya. The new farm will boost Vegpro’s vegetable
production to meet rising demand from European clients. Vegpro Group
will work with 800 smallholder farmers in Ghana, giving them access to
international markets for the first time.

IFC invested $14.3 million in Patisen,
a food processing company in Senegal, to support its expansion across West
Africa. A main goal of IFC’s work in the region is to support the agribusiness
sector.

Manufacturing and Services

IFC invested $7.5 million in Nigeria Bel Impex Limited, a paper
converting company. The Project is expected to increase waste paper converting
capacity in Nigeria and contribute to filling the gap between supply and
demand for tissue products in Nigeria.

IFC provided a loan of $5.45 million to Alliance
Estates Limited to help the company build a 132 room, three-star hotel
in Ghana that will help meet the demand for business infrastructure in
the country. The Protea Hotel in Takoradi, Ghana will employ more
than 100 people.

Financial Services

IFC agreed to share the risk on an SME portfolio
with BNP-Paris local subsidiary, BICICI, for up to XFO38.6 million
of new loans to SMEs while building the bank’s SME-lending capacity with
our flagship AMSME program (Africa
Micro Small Medium Enterprise Finance Program).

Small and Medium Enterprises

IFC’s Business Edge program, which provides
management training for entrepreneurs, was launched in Côte d’Ivoire and
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, and Congo Brazzaville last fiscal year.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development
institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing
countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing
capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services
to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time
high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector
to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing
development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.